1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image data processing apparatus suitably applied for retrieval or edition of, for example, a video tape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Confirmation of an outline or selection of a desired cut of a material on which a subject matter is recorded as visible images such as a cinema film can be performed only by visually observing the material. On the other hand, in the case of another material on which animation image data are recorded in an invisible condition such as a video tape or a video disk, various methods are employed in order to find out an outline of the subject manner of the material, including
(a) a method wherein the subject manner is displayed by screen on a monitor display and a high speed search is performed when necessary, and PA1 (b) another method wherein animation images of a plurality of frames are displayed in a reduced scale in a scrolling manner on a monitor display using a multiscreen displaying technique (refer to Japanese Patent Publication Application No. 81-44437).
Meanwhile, since a large amount of information is recorded for a long period of time on a video tape, it is a popular practice that index labels are applied to various recorded contents of a video tape in order to make the recorded contents clear.
However, the first method (a) described above is disadvantageous in that the efficiency in editing a video tape is low because confirmation of an outline of the subject matter of the video tape of a television program, for example, for one hour requires a time longer than that. Meanwhile, the second method (b) is disadvantageous in that comparatively short cuts, for example, of a television commercial are sometimes overlooked and there is no reproducibility in confirmation but there is a dispersion in such confirmation among operators. Accordingly, an image data processing apparatus is required by which a general flow of images can be grasped readily and besides accurate retrieving and editing operations can be performed at a high efficiency.
In the case of the popular practice making use of index labels, since an outline entered on an index label is a representation of a few words, it is difficult to know recorded contents of the tape in detail from the index label. Particularly, with a non-edited video tape recorded by means of a video tape recorder integrated with a camera, it is difficult even to summarize its contents.
It is to be noted that, while an index can be produced using a video printer, it involves complicated operations including extraction of representative images, addition of basic data such as a time and layout. Accordingly, production of an index using a video printer is not in widespread use.